Police, CNB to pilot video recording of interviews during investigations

SINGAPORE — From the first quarter of next year, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) will pilot the video recording of interviews during investigations, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release today (July 22).

The move is part of continuing efforts to uphold the standards of an effective and fair criminal justice system, the MHA said. It added that together with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), it has been studying the feasibility of introducing video recording of interviews.

The feasibility study looked at how the video recording of interviews has been adopted in other places such the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong, and the impact on the administration of criminal justice by the various models of the initiative.

In recent years, several Members of Parliament (MP) and lawyers here have called for video recordings of law enforcement officers taking statements from accused persons. Among other things, they argued that these would help cut down costs and court trial times, as well as offer protection to law enforcement officers. In some recent high-profile cases, court time was taken up to determine if evidence was properly recorded or accurately represented.

The MHA said it will consult various stakeholders on the implementation of the pilot. Further details will be announced after the consultations have been completed.

The pilot will involve a limited set of offences and allow for an assessment of the impact on investigations, its effectiveness in different situations, and the resources required before a decision is made on a broader implementation. It is envisaged that the pilot will be conducted under the existing legal framework, the MHA said.

“The inter-agency workgroup found that while Singapore’s existing criminal investigation processes are robust, the implementation of VRI in Singapore will further strengthen confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system and assist the courts to try cases more effectively,” said the MHA.

The implementation of the VRI will provide the courts with a video recording of the interview and will allow the courts to take the interviewee’s demeanour into account in determining the admissibility or weight to be accorded to the interviewee’s statement.

“It will also provide an objective contemporaneous account of the interview process and allow the Courts to decide on allegations that may be made about the interview,” said the ministry.